Warner feels safe in India despite alert

Date: March 01 2013

Chris Barrett

DAVID Warner says he feels ''totally safe'' in the city hosting the second Test against India, with security and traffic closures increased to what the local police commissioner calls ''unprecedented'' levels after last week's bombings.

Roads from the hotel where the Australian and Indian teams are both staying were cleared on Thursday for the visitors' bus to make the 30-minute journey to the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium and 2000 security personnel - including five platoons of the armed forces and more than 1400 police - have been deployed in the city.

Two bombs attached to parked bicycles exploded outside a cinema and a bus station in Hyderabad's Dilsukh Nagar district on Thursday night last week, killing 15 people and injuring more than 100.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India decided not to move the second Test, starting on Saturday, but Warner said the Australians were not concerned.

''I feel totally safe any time I come to India, with the security that we've got and the stuff that's in place,'' Warner said. ''I think they didn't really want anyone on the roads to and from the ground but that's virtually impossible with 10 million people living in Hyderabad.

''The stuff that's going on out of our control is what it is. It's what happens sometimes in these places and you've just got to deal with it.''

Warner is not a newcomer to India despite this being his first Test tour of the world's second most populated nation. The 26-year-old is an experienced performer in the Indian Premier League with Delhi Daredevils and the T20 Champions League, where he featured in NSW's triumph in 2009 on the same ground on which the second Test will be held.

''Obviously it's not ideal to come here in these situations and seeing people being injured and killed is disappointing and very sad but in hindsight I don't think they had another venue to play at,'' Warner told Sky Sports Radio. ''We're here to play cricket, that's our job and we've just got to get on with it.

The city's police commissioner, D Tirumala Rao, said 60 CCTV cameras had been installed at vehicle checkpoints in Hyderabad. Mobile phones, bags, banners and cameras will also not be allowed into the ground. ''We are going to have an unprecedented security system for the upcoming Test match,'' he said.

It is another unfortunate reality of touring here that is giving Warner more worries in the lead-up to the match. A bout of gastroenteritis that delayed him batting in Australia's second innings in Chennai on Monday has left him unwell again and he did not train with the rest of the squad on Thursday.

''I took the Peter Siddle vegetarian noodle advice. He told me to try a bit and it was the hottest thing I had tried in my life,'' Warner said.

''Now I totally regret it because I don't do too well with spices.''

Australia coach Mickey Arthur, meanwhile, revealed the contents of a meeting held with Shane Warne after the eight-wicket defeat in Chennai.

''Shane spoke to our spinners about the conditions and his experiences in such conditions while he also spoke to our batsmen about what a spin bowler is thinking about before they come in to bowl,'' he said.

Australia's attack in Hyderabad is set to be fronted by James Pattinson despite his workload being monitored closely. The Victorian was Australia's best bowler in Chennai, and despite a series of breakdowns last year selectors believe they can't afford to rest him at 1-0 down.

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